Penguins Icon Jaromir Jagr Followed His Heart When He Joined Philadelphia Flyers in 2011

(JAN 2, 2012 -- VOL. 65, ISSUE 13)

It's amazing to think about, but hockey icon Jaromir Jagr -- who turned 53 years old in February -- is still playing competitve hockey. But in this 2012 cover story, Jagr spoke exclusively to THN about his decision to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers -- the arch-enemy of his longtime Pittsburgh Penguins team:

MAN OVER MYTH

By Adam Proteau

The gap between perception and reality never seems bigger than it is when it comes to Jaromir Jagr. In his three years playing in the Russian-based Konti-nental League, some imagined he had lost a step and wouldn’t thrive again upon his return to the NHL. Others, who heard the urban legends about him and interpret his easygoing nature as a sign of weakness or lack of determination, just assumed he would never return and instead go on a world tour dating Czech supermodels. Others still thought that if and when he did return to North America, he would be fully intent on signing with Pittsburgh, where he won two Stanley Cups, and wouldn’t in a million years even dream of joining the Penguins’ hated rivals in Philadelphia.

But with his 40th birthday coming up in February and splashes of grey in his hair and facial stubble, Jagr is his own man. He doesn’t fritter away the days worrying about anyone’s perception of him. He long ago was resigned to the fact he can’t control the pictures painted by gutter Picassos. And now, as the elder statesman on a Flyers team that has been a perfect fit for him thus far, he’s intent on sucking the marrow out of every moment he has left in the NHL.

When Jagr departed for Russia in the summer of 2008, he was regarded as a depreciating asset. Over his final two years playing for the New York Rangers, his point production dropped an average of 26 points (from 123 in 2005-06 to 96 in ’06-07 to 71 in ’07-08). He finished off his Blueshirts career with an impressive five goals and 15 points in 10 playoff games, but when no contract offer was made to keep him in a Rangers jersey, he signed a two-year, $10-million deal to star for Avangard Omsk in Siberia.

That’s right – Siberia. The symbolism of him going from the most popular city on the planet to one of Earth’s most remote locations was overwhelming. But you’ll never get him to utter a discouraging word about his time there. Jaromir Jagr doesn’t do regret. “If you compare what you’re doing with your life to something else, what you’re comparing it to could be only your imagination,” Jagr said when asked whether he’d have preferred to stay in the NHL. “If you think it could be better somewhere else, you’re never going to be satisfied. But if you say, ‘it could be a lot worse if I didn’t do what I’m doing now,’ then you’re always happy. That’s what I’ve learned – whatever you’re doing, that’s the best thing you could do. It’s up to you how you’re going to control your brain.”

Although few of his NHL fans ever saw a minute of his KHL career, Jagr was in full control of his craft there as well. Omsk named him captain midway through his first season in Russia and instead of returning to the NHL last year, he re-signed for a third season. In 155 KHL games, he amassed 66 goals and 145 points. And when he represented his Czech Republic homeland at the World Championship the past two years, Jagr posted eight goals and 16 points in 18 games.

If he did miss anything, it was the smaller North American ice surface that allows him to take full advantage of his 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame and legendary ability to control and protect the puck. But the larger Russian ice surfaces were a benefit to him in another regard – one that made his readjustment to the ever-increasing pace of NHL hockey that much easier. “On the big ice, one thing that helped me was the skating,” Jagr said. “In three years there you skate a lot. It’s tough to score goals there because everything’s so far away. But I like to play on the small ice – you beat guys 1-on-1 in the corner and you have a scoring chance. Over there, when you beat guys 1-on-1 in the corner, you still don’t have a scoring chance. There’s somebody else you have to beat.”

In many respects, the only person Jagr worries about beating these days – other than the goalie, checking forwards and defensemen he faces on any given night – is Father Time. And that brings us to another flat-out falsehood about No. 68: that he’s played 18 NHL seasons and continues to excel strictly because of his supernatural abilities. In fact, the opposite is true. He takes great pains to keep himself in optimal physical condition. But because he’s Jaromir Jagr, he does it his way.

Whereas almost all NHLers are used to hitting the weight room each day after practice, Jagr operates differently. He doesn’t believe that, simply because the hockey world is accustomed to a typical training schedule, he has to abide by it if it doesn’t work for his body. So he’ll show up at the Flyers practice facility late at night to work out and/or skate. He’ll go for an 11 p.m. run the night before a game.

And when you hear him explain why he does it that way, it makes all the sense in the world. “Why I work at night is for one reason – if I go on ice in the morning and do a little bit off the ice, I cannot do a lot more because I’m already tired from the practice where I give 100 percent,” said Jagr, who also continues to use ankle weights and weight vests when he practices. “I always believe if you give 100 percent, your body only has an hour and 30, an hour and 45 maximum (at that level). So then you take a rest, wait eight or nine hours, then do it again. If I’m just gonna do it after practice just because someone told me to do it and I don’t feel fresh, it doesn’t make sense.”

Jagr’s approach to conditioning has rubbed off on the Flyers young players, including budding star James van Riemsdyk and fellow Czech Jakub Voracek, Jagr’s closest friend on the team. And it is one of the ways he’s become a leader in short order in the dressing room. Jagr won’t be making any Herb Brooks-style motivational speeches, but that’s not what he brings to the table. He has given his teammates an exceptional example of what a world-class work ethic looks like. And more importantly, he brings that famous smile of his to the office every single day to keep the room loose and positive.

You remember that smile, the one that’s as wide as the talent gulf that once existed between him and all but maybe two or three other players on the planet. He’s still got full wattage on it and you can see it on his face at a morning skate in Buffalo in early December. Indeed, his grin is by far the biggest of all the Flyers players on the ice that morning. He flips a puck into the back of unassuming Flyers defenseman Kevin Marshall, just to get a giggle out of him. He messes around with linemate and emerging superstar center Claude Giroux. Really, it doesn’t matter who he’s around for the beaming face to come out.

And while that might be in part a product of Philadelphia’s early-season success in the standings, it doesn’t go unappreciated by the men who made the decision to bring him into Philly in the first place. “His smile is infectious – in the room, on the ice, with everybody in the organization,” said Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, who believes Jagr remains one of the toughest players to knock off the puck. “I don’t know if he’s exceeded expectations or just picked up where he left off when he was in the NHL. He was a great player when he left, a great player in the Russian league and he’s been great for us since coming back. We’ve been extremely pleased with his performance. He’s come here with a terrific attitude, his work ethic has been excellent and he’s been a fantastic influence on our young players.”

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren, who signed Jagr to a one-year, $3.3-million contract on the first day of unrestricted free agency, echoed Laviolette’s praise. “Right from the first day with us in training camp, Jaromir’s preparation and professionalism have really stood out,” Holmgren said. “I can’t say enough how pleased I am. He’s been a real blessing for us.”

If he’s been a boon to the Flyers, Jagr has been a particularly strong influence on two young players. After his development stalled in Columbus, the 22-year-old Voracek is on course to set a career high in points with 55. And then there’s Giroux. The 23-year-old was just finding his NHL footing when Jagr was finishing up with the Rangers and has since blossomed like few others from his generation, going from 27 points in 42 games in 2008-09 to 47 points in his first full season of 2009-10 to 76 points last season. But this season, playing alongside Jagr and Scott Hartnell, Giroux is making those numbers look small. With 16 goals and 37 points in 27 games, the Hearst, Ont., native was on pace for a 49-goal, 112-point campaign.

With all due respect to Hartnell, Jagr’s influence clearly has given Giroux a performance boost. Jagr missed four of those first 27 games with lower-body injuries, but in the 23 games the dynamic duo did spend together, Jagr was nearly a point-per-gamer (nine goals, 22 points) and a guy delighted to have someone like himself who can see and think about the game at the most elite of levels. “His hockey sense is one of the best I’ve seen – no, make that the best I’ve seen,” Giroux said of Jagr, with whom he had chemistry on and off the ice since the first day of training camp. “That’s one of his best attributes – being able to communicate and getting everyone on the same page. Every day he’s happy to be at the rink. It’s not a job for him, it’s more about having fun with the boys.”

Jagr thinks so much of Giroux, who helped him break the 1,600-career-NHL-points plateau, he believes the youngster is already in the highest echelon of hockey’s elite. But it’s what’s inside Giroux’s ears that truly sets him apart and has made Jagr’s readjustment to NHL life that much easier. “He could be No. 1 shooter in the league eventually,” Jagr said of Giroux. “He’s gonna have a good challenge with (Sidney) Crosby, but you never know. One thing I like about him is he’s very smart. He’s 23 and he’s going to be better physically, but in the brain he’s 35. That’s why Crosby is so good. With their brain they beat their age by 15 years.”

One of the reasons Giroux and Jagr can display their offensive wizardry is the league’s crackdown on obstruction, something that wasn’t around during Jagr’s peak years as a Penguin in the mid-to-late ’90s. While he wasn’t as vocal about the NHL’s clutch-and-grab issues as former teammate Mario Lemieux, Jagr is pleased to see the steps that have been taken to give the game back to its best players.

“The league is doing a very good job listening to the fans, giving them what they like,” Jagr said. “People don’t want to see 1-0 games. Probably they don’t want to see 9-8 games either. But six, seven goals a game, I think that’s fair for the fans and the league did a great job to realize that. For a long time, the league was stuck in the same spot and when skilled players like Mario and Wayne (Gretzky) wanted to change it, the league didn’t listen. But then they started listening and the league is more popular than it’s ever been.”

One place where Jagr is not more popular than he’s ever been is Pittsburgh, where Penguins devotees saw his joining the Flyers as a treasonous move whose equivalent would be Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger signing with the Eagles. But again, the perception of the Pens’ interest in Jagr was entirely different from the reality he describes.

As Jagr sees it, he was unfairly linked to a return to the Penguins and raised the hopes of Pens fans because his heart was described as being “in Pittsburgh.” His agent, former NHLer Petr Svoboda, was the one who used that phrase, but those words never came out of Jagr’s mouth. And the notion he would accept Pittsburgh’s one-year, $2-million offer simply because of his history with the team was fatally flawed.

“Before I signed with anybody, I didn’t talk to any media,” Jagr said. “Whatever was written, I cannot control it. If someone writes my heart is in Pittsburgh, I would not go to Pittsburgh just because they wrote that. I didn’t talk with anybody and I didn’t say that. But when you go back, I was reading the newspapers and if you look at what was written one month before I even signed with Philly, I don’t think the (Penguins) coaches or GM, or the organization, wanted me to go there. They never talked about signing me at the (2011) World Championship. They were there and they saw me play. If they were really interested, they would talk to me there. So why all of a sudden are they upset one month later when I choose Philly?”

Indeed, when you look at the character assassination that routinely takes place when an elite player leaves his team for unrestricted free agent riches or in a trade (just ask former Flyers captain Mike Richards or current Flyers starting goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, both of whom were pilloried after leaving Philly and Phoenix), it becomes obvious the image of a Penguins organization truly forlorn after being spurned by Jagr was a public relations exercise in pleasing the team’s bitter fan base, not an indication of genuine interest in making the most of his services.

Although he makes it clear how many great memories he has of Pittsburgh, Jagr isn’t one to romanticize his glory days to the point of delusion and accept a role that likely wouldn’t have been as large as the one he currently enjoys in Philly. If that makes him the villain in Pittsburgh when he makes his first appearance there as a Flyer on Dec. 29 – and check out some Internet message boards to see precisely how loathed he’s become in the Steel City – he’s OK with that. He knows he’ll have the bad-guy moustache superimposed over his image by media types as he gets closer to that game, but he’s been around long enough to know how the news business works and what it says about the nature of people in general.

“It’s pretty tough to change people’s opinion about you, not just in this situation, but in general,” Jagr said. “I don’t think I did anything bad and if people see it differently, I cannot change it. But it’s your choice to like someone or not, so I don’t listen to any of that. You have to understand that people who are saying and writing that, they’re giving people what they want to hear. People want to hear bad news. That makes them happy. The media are not stupid – they know what articles people are reading the most. I don’t react to that because I know they’re only doing it to satisfy their fans and keep their jobs.”

Jagr lives in the moment as much as any hockey legend ever has. He’s never been married or had kids, but talks like someone who sees himself with a family sometime in the relative near future. He’s unsure what his post-career life will entail, although it’s safe to say you’re not going to see him follow Wayne Gretzky’s lead and decide to become an NHL coach one day.

He also confirmed plans to play at least one season in his Czech homeland before hanging up his skates for good and awaiting first-ballot induction into multiple halls of fame. But right now and for the remainder of this season, his sole goal is to bring a championship to a Pennsylvania-based NHL team and its long-suffering fans, just as he did for a different Pennsylvania-based team and their supporters two decades ago. “I’m having a lot of fun,” Jagr said. “The important thing here is the coaches and management find a way to make us enjoy the hockey and not make it just work. You work hard, but when you’re having fun, you work even harder.”

He works harder when he’s having fun? That’s not something you heard much about during most of his career. But what you hear about Jaromir Jagr isn’t often what you get when you talk to the man and those who know him. That’s why, whether or not jaded Penguins fans care to admit it, an NHL with Jagr in it – in any uniform – is an NHL that’s richer for having him.

“You can tell he cares about the game, about playing well, about the team,” said Flyers center Max Talbot. “Everything he does is to be better and I think people are realizing he just didn’t come back (to the NHL) for nothing. He came back to play good and to win.”

Calipari updates Adou Thiero’s status for Sweet 16

The Arkansas basketball fanbase breathed a collective sigh Tuesday after Arkansas head coach John Calipari said junior forward Adou Thiero was going to be available for the Hogs' Sweet 16 matchup against Texas Tech on Thursday in San Francisco, but his availability may be more limited than previously thought. Calipari said Tuesday on the Pat McAfee Show that Thiero should be available to play 12 to 15 minutes, but that number has gone down to between eight and 10. Thiero practiced with the team Tuesday, but Calipari said he held him out of practice Wednesday.

Which NHL Playoff-Bound Teams Did The Injury Bug Bite Hardest?

Elias Pettersson and Kirill Kaprizov (Nick Wosika-Imagn Images)

Hockey’s a high-speed, physical game, so injuries in the NHL are virtually unavoidable. But not all injuries are created equal.

Some are easier to play through with the help of doctors and therapists, while others can force even the most determined athlete to the sidelines.

Now that we’re into the last month of the NHL’s 2024-25 regular season, injury news takes on extra importance. It also catches fans’ attention when top stars, such as Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, are out of action — especially without much explanation about their status or return date.

Here’s an overview of where the teams with playoff aspirations are sitting, injury-wise, as of Wednesday, March 26.

Atlantic Division

The seeding here is wide open for the defending Stanley Cup champs and two serious challengers.

The Florida Panthers are hoping that Matthew Tkachuk and newcomer Brad Marchand will be able to step in seamlessly when they get the doctors’ thumbs-up and are expecting Dmitry Kulikov to return before the playoffs begin. Marchand could play as soon as Friday against the Utah Hockey Club.

For the moment, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs’ rosters are looking pretty complete. None of the Lightning’s key players has missed more than a handful of games this year, although big defenseman Erik Cernak left Tampa Bay’s 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins late in the first period on Tuesday.

Metropolitan Division

The seeding is probably set for the Metro’s top three teams. The Washington Capitals should face the second wild-card team in Round 1, while the Carolina Hurricanes currently hold home-ice advantage against the New Jersey Devils. 

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe will be hoping his team can stay alive long enough for Dougie Hamilton to get back into action — possibly after the first round. Jonas Siegenthaler could return after the end of the regular season, but Jack Hughes is ruled out after his shoulder surgery. Also, Jacob Markstrom hasn’t been his usual self since coming back from his MCL sprain in early March. He’s now 1-5-1 since rejoining the team.

The Hurricanes dodged a bullet when Seth Jarvis avoided injury after crashing hard into the boards in Los Angeles on Saturday. Andrei Svechnikov has now missed seven games with an upper-body injury, but the good news is he skated as an extra forward on Tuesday. 

Eastern Conference Wild Cards

The Ottawa Senators look reasonably safe in the first wild-card spot. They’re also pretty healthy, and Brady Tkachuk continues to perform at a high level.

For the second wild card, it looks like a five-horse race. 

The Columbus Blue Jackets saw Sean Monahan and Erik Gudbranson return to action in their 4-3 overtime win over the New York Islanders on Monday. 

The Islanders are still without Semyon Varlamov, who has been sidelined since November. They’re hoping Mat Barzal can return soon after a two-month absence due to a knee issue.

The Detroit Red Wings’ head of steam seemed to evaporate around the same time Andrew Copp headed for surgery in late February. Defenseman Erik Gustafsson is also now out of action, and trade acquisition Petr Mrazek left Monday's game against Utah with an injury as well.

That leaves the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens as the healthiest of the bunch. Kirby Dach remains sidelined, but Kaiden Guhle is with the Habs on their current road trip. He could be back in action soon.

Central Division

Like the Metro, the Central Division seeding looks pretty set. While the Winnipeg Jets battle the Capitals for the Presidents’ Trophy, the Dallas Stars have the inside track on home-ice advantage in the ‘Rantanen’s Revenge’ first-round series against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Jets have missed Neal Pionk since he went down two weeks ago and are now without Gabriel Vilardi as well. Both players are classified as week-to-week.

And while the Stars will most likely have to wait until the playoffs begin before Miro Heiskanen can get back to action, they were lucky that Roope Hintz missed just a handful of games and that Rantanen was just bruised and swollen after he got hit in the face by a puck on Monday.

The Avs are also now missing a key defenseman, with Josh Manson sidelined until late in the regular season. But what a boost it would be for Colorado if Gabriel Landeskog really is able suit up for the first time since he was handed the 2022 Stanley Cup.

Pacific Division

The Edmonton Oilers may benefit from taking a conservative approach to McDavid and Draisaitl’s injuries, if it means they’ll be fresher for a deep playoff run. But that caution needs to be balanced with more immediate concerns. 

Now seven points behind Vegas, first place is probably out of reach. But the Los Angeles Kings have been crushing their opponents ever since Drew Doughty got back into the lineup in January, and they now hold home-ice advantage as they look to flip the script in the playoffs’ most enduring matchup. 

The Kings are the best team in the league in their own barn, and have established their team chemistry. But Alex Turcotte missed Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the New York Rangers with an upper-body injury, and Tanner Jeannot took just one shift after a brief fight with Matt Rempe late in the second period. 

Meanwhile, the Oilers will be waiting at least another 10 days to get their first look at new acquisition Trent Frederic. Evander Kane could also make his first appearance of the year in the post-season. 

On Tuesday, the Golden Knights got Shea Theodore back into the lineup for their 5-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. But they lost their leading goal-scorer, Tomas Hertl, to a shoulder ailment after he went hard into the boards on Sunday, and his timeline’s unclear. Veteran Alex Pietrangelo, who declined Team Canada’s 4 Nations invitation due to ongoing health issues, also missed Tuesday’s game with what’s being called a lower-body issue.

Western Conference Wild Cards

The Wild have endured some of the worst injury luck in the league this year and now hold just a two-point lead over the St. Louis Blues after two straight losses. Jonas Brodin is now back in the lineup, and coach John Hynes indicated Tuesday that Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov are expected to start skating soon, which is good news. Marcus Foligno is also dealing with an upper-body issue that has kept him out for five games.

Despite losing Colton Parayko to injury, the St. Louis Blues are starting to look like playoff shoo-ins.

Behind them, the Calgary Flames are close to getting captain Mikael Backlund back after a two-week absence, and Utah is fully manned after dealing with several long-term injuries on the blueline earlier in the season. 

But the Vancouver Canucks can’t seem to maintain any positive momentum. Quinn Hughes appears to have raised his game to another level despite dealing with multiple injuries this year, and Thatcher Demko looked good in his return against the Devils on Monday. But Elias Pettersson (the $11.6-million forward) and Nils Hoglander were knocked out of Saturday’s loss against the New York Rangers. They went back to Vancouver for treatment as the Canucks continued their Eastern road swing.

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LeBron James discusses relationship with Michael Jordan: ‘We don’t talk’

LeBron James: ‘I’m still playing, I’m still focused on my craft right now.’ Photograph: Adam Pantozzi/NBAE/Getty Images

LeBron James has opened up about his relationship with Michael Jordan, the man who he often finds his NBA career measured against.

The question of which of the players is the greatest has become such a staple of sports talkshows that it is almost a cliche. In an interview with the the Pat McAfee Show broadcast on Wednesday, James said he has little interaction with Jordan.

“We don’t talk,” James said. “Because I’m still playing. I’m still playing, I’m still focused on my craft right now.”

Related: LeBron James at 40: NBA’s brightest star stares down the dying of the light

James said much of the distance is due to the pair’s competitiveness. James has four NBA titles and is a four-time Most Valuable Player. Jordan was a six-time champion and a five-time MVP.

“I think it’s because I’m still playing,” James said. “And MJ, we all know MJ. Even if you don’t know him personally, he is one of the most ruthless competitors there is and until I’m done and he doesn’t have to look at me running up and down wearing the No 23 and every time my name is mentioned, it’s mentioned with his.”

The 40-year-old said he has “hope” he will become closer to Jordan when he retires, saying something similar happened with Kobe Bryant. James said there was some competitive friction between the pair but that softened when Bryant had retired and James joined the Lakers.

“That’s when our relationship became really, really good,” James said. “He welcomed me. He called me, like, ‘Bro, anything you need in LA, I got you. You’re a Laker now. You’re family.’ And we would have multiple conversations. Obviously, you guys saw him coming to a lot of games ... And when I passed him for the scoring record in Philly, he had a tweet out there like, ‘Keep on going.’ Like, ‘Keep transcending the game. Keep going.’ And that shit meant so much to me.”

James also spoke about his son and Lakers teammate, Bronny. Bronny was drafted by the Lakers last year, amid some accusations of nepotism. He has struggled in early NBA appearances but has spent time in the G-League and scored a career-high 17 points for the Lakers earlier this month.

“For me as a dad, it doesn’t matter if he never scores, ever. For me as a dad, I’m just super proud of him, period, as a young man,” said James. “For me as a mentor and as a teammate of his that wants to see him thrive because I have seen the work he’s put into the game, I am super proud of his development to where he is now. From the moment that he was drafted ... to now ... his development has skyrocketed.”

Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest in college, and James described the joy of seeing him recover and make his debut for the Lakers this season.

“Us going out on the floor and having that moment, physically I wasn’t even there,” James said. “I wasn’t even there. I’m floating. I could only imagine where Bronny was. We haven’t even talked about it yet. At some point we will. But I wasn’t even there. I was so [happy], I might have been in the rafters. I might have been at home – my body might have been at home watching the game and watching the moment. I completely was not there.”

James was also asked about extending his playing career so that his youngest son, 17-year-old Bryce, could play alongside his father and Bronny on the Lakers.

“Don’t do that to me,” James said with a smile.

3 observations after Sixers reach 50 losses with defeat to cellar-dwelling Wizards

3 observations after Sixers reach 50 losses with defeat to cellar-dwelling Wizards  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers reached the 50-loss mark and dropped their sixth consecutive game Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

They fell to 23-50 on the season with a 119-114 defeat to the Wizards. Washington moved to 16-56. Both teams will obviously be hoping for the best on NBA draft lottery night.

The Sixers’ top scorers were Quentin Grimes (22 points) and Guerschon Yabusele (21 points).

Justin Edwards had 19 points, 10 rebounds and five steals.

Alex Sarr led the Wizards with 24 points. Justin Champagnie tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Both the Sixers and Wizards had a long list of sidelined players. Nine Sixers were out with injuries and Jalen Hood-Schifino missed the game because of an illness.

Tyrese Maxey (right finger sprain) and Kyle Lowry (right hip injury) worked out on the floor pregame. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said that he expects a decision will come soon on the path forward with Joel Embiid’s season-ending left knee injury.

The Sixers will host the Heat on Saturday night. Here are observations on their loss to the Wizards: 

Wizards pile up the points  

Yabusele scored the night’s first hoop with a post-up bucket on fellow Frenchman Sarr. He continued getting up shots every time he could and posted the Sixers’ first nine points. 

Defensively, the Sixers were highly ineffective early in both half court and transition. 

Washington began 8 for 10 from three-point range. Even when Adem Bona rejected Jordan Poole’s layup attempt, the ball found Sarr’s shooting pocket and the No. 2 overall pick nailed a top-of-the-key jumper. Though the Sixers only committed one first-half turnover, the Wizards had almost no trouble generating good shots. 

Nurse burned his second timeout after a fast-break Champagnie layup put the Wizards up 16 points. The Sixers’ defense did not dramatically improve from there. Colby Jones capped the first quarter with a buzzer-beating three that gave Washington a 45-29 lead. 

Another NBA debut 

The Sixers used four men off the bench Wednesday in Jared Butler, Bona, Marcus Bagley and Phillip Wheeler.

That second unit was certainly not veteran-heavy. Butler is the eldest of the group at 24 years old. Bona’s a rookie center. Bagley now has two games of NBA experience.

Wheeler, a 6-foot-8 forward on a 10-day contract, made his NBA debut. He got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when he grabbed a defensive rebound and converted a coast-to-coast layup. 

Wheeler finished with four points on 2-for-9 shooting, four rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes. The New Jersey native played a part in one of the night’s better highlights, connecting with Ricky Council IV on a third-quarter alley-oop. 

Not a winning formula

Grimes started cold but got cooking late in the second quarter. He fell just short of his ninth consecutive game with 25 or more points.

Edwards recorded his sixth straight game with at least 18 points. The rookie was sharp and decisive as a driver, recognizing when he could attack the rim and often doing so in no-nonsense fashion. 

Of course, even with those individual performances, it’s awfully difficult to wipe out big deficits without high-level defense and hot shooting. Poole hit back-to-back threes in the third quarter to extend the Wizards’ lead to 89-71.

Washington never had any serious scoring droughts and the Sixers’ outside shooting was subpar. They went 14 for 46 from three-point range (30.4 percent) in their 50th defeat of this sour season.

The Sixers did compete until the final buzzer and, with assistance from some youthful Washington mistakes, made the Wizards sweat down the stretch. A Jeff Dowtin Jr. layup cut Washington’s advantage to 117-113 with 38.3 seconds left.

However, Sarr quieted the crowd by sinking a runner and the Wizards ultimately managed to snap their five-game losing skid.

Orioles at Blue Jays prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for Mar. 27

The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays open the 2025 regular season Thursday north of the border in Toronto.

Zach Eflin is slated to take the mound for Baltimore against José Berríos for Toronto.

Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.

We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.

Game details & how to watch Orioles at Blue Jays

  • Date: Thursday, March 27, 2025
  • Time: 3:07PM EST
  • Site: Rogers Centre
  • City: Toronto, Ontario
  • Network/Streaming: MASN, SportsNet Now

Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.

Odds for the Orioles at the Blue Jays

The latest odds as of Wednesday:

  • Moneyline: Baltimore Orioles (-115), Toronto Blue Jays (-105)
  • Spread: Orioles -1.5 (+145), Blue Jays +1.5 (-175)
  • Total: 8.5 runs

Probable starting pitchers for Orioles at Blue Jays

  • Thursday’s pitching matchup (DATE): Zach Eflin vs. José Berríos
    • Orioles: Zach Eflin
      Spring Training - 4GP, 11.2 IP, 0-1, 5.40 ERA, 9 Ks
    • Blue Jays: José Berríos
      Spring Training - 5GP, 20.2 IP, 2-0, 2.18 ERA, 18 Ks

Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!

Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Orioles at Blue Jays

  • Certain to be in the news all summer, Vladimir Guerrero hit .298 in Spring Training for Toronto
  • Bo Bichette led the Jays with a .373 average this Spring
  • Ryan Mountcastle led the Orioles with 5 HRs this Spring
  • Jackson Holliday went 16-48 (.333) this Spring for the O's

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

Expert picks & predictions for Thursday’s game between the Orioles and the Blue Jays

NBC Sports Bet Best Bet

Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday's game between the Orioles and the Blue Jays:

  • Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on Toronto on the Moneyline.
  • Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Toronto Blue Jays +1.5.
  • Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the under on the Game Total of 8.5.

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Why Flyers' Latest Prospect Signing is an Underrated Addition

Ty Murchison handles the puck during an NCAA game between Arizona State and Colgate. (Photo: Patrick Breen, The Republic/USA Today Network)

Breaking up some of the negativity, the Philadelphia Flyers announced Wednesday that they have signed defense prospect Ty Murchison to a two-year, entry-level contract that begins with the 2025-26 season.

Murchison, 22, was the Flyers' fifth-round pick, 158th overall, back in the 2021 NHL Draft, and the unheralded prospect is actually a bigger addition than most realize.

To start with the obvious, the Flyers simply do not have many left-shot defense prospects in their prospect pool at this time.

Emil Andrae has seemingly graduated to the NHL level, which leaves Adam Ginning, now 25 years old, and Hunter McDonald as the only two left-shot prospects on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Ginning and McDonald will both become free agents at the end of next season, and in the former's case, he is running out of time to a.) make the NHL, and b.) prove that he should stay in the NHL.

Among the Flyers' unsigned defense prospects is lefty Brian Zanetti, a 6-foot-3 Swiss defenseman and a former fourth-round pick who has spent the last two years playing for the SCL Tigers after two seasons of CHL hockey with the OHL's Peterborough Petes.

The 22-year-old is under contract with HC Lugano for the 2025-26 season, according to EliteProspects, and the Flyers will lose his signing rights if the two sides cannot agree to a contract by June 1.

That leaves only Murchison left for the Flyers, who is now importantly under contract with the team and will not be seeing his own signing rights expire in the summer.

So, now that this has been signed, sealed, and delivered, what is Murchison all about? What can, or will, he offer to the Flyers organization?

Assessing Ty Murchison's play style, ceiling

The 6-foot-2 Murchison has spent the last four seasons playing NCAA hockey for Arizona State University, for whom he appeared in 145 games, scoring nine goals, 14 assists, and 23 points, as well as piling up 279 penalty minutes.

The two things that stand out from the raw numbers are the lack of points, and the wealth of penalty minutes.

Murchison is not adept with the puck on his stick whatsoever, but he's adequately mobile at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds. The Corona, Calif., native is a violent player, always looking to take the body and eliminate his opponents from the play as early and as often as possible.

Murchison excels with a physical game, whether it's throwing bone-crushing hits or going all out to block a shot. 

The Flyers' former fifth-round pick was just named the NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year, and there's no question his ASU-record and NCHC-leading 98 blocked shots played a big part in that, too.

To quickly sum that up, the Flyers have the reigning NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year in Murchison, as well as the reigning NCHC Forward of the Year in Alex Bump.

Murchison could reasonably become a bottom-pair NHL defenseman, especially if matched with a more offensive-minded player. Think of a player like Brenden Dillon as a high-end example of this.

Murchison's NHL comparison

One Flyers defenseman known for throwing hits and blocking shots is none other than Nick Seeler, a fellow former collegiate defenseman who has a near-identical build (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) to Murchison.

Seeler, of course, has never been a big-time producer at any level, having last scored 20 or more points in a season in his last year of high school competition, which was way back in 2010-11.

The 31-year-old will turn 32 before the start of next season, and he won't be getting any younger.

Seeler's rugged, physical style will inevitably take a toll on his body, though not all bumps and bruises are the same.

Between Murchison and McDonald, the Flyers have ensured they have an heir apparent for Seeler in the building and under contract with the organization developing with the team's pro staffs.

We can expect Murchison to kick off his pro career in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, as it will take him at least a year to adapt to a faster pro game with his limited puck skills.

Beyond that, though, the Flyers have filled out some organizational gaps to afford other players, like Andrae, the extended opportunities they have earned.

AHL teams lining up against Murchison, McDonald, and the Phantoms better start investing in some ice packs ahead of next season, because they'll need them.

Mets' Hayden Senger 'pretty speechless' to make first career Opening Day roster

Drafted by the Mets in the 24th round of the 2018 MLB Draft, catcher Hayden Senger has been waiting years for the message he finally received just before the team broke camp in Port St. Lucie this week.

For the first time, the 27-year-old can call himself a major leaguer.

Senger, who has played a combined 402 games in the Mets’ minor league system, has officially made the 2025 Opening Day roster. President of baseball operations David Stearns announced the move to reporters on Wednesday, and Senger later spoke to the assembled media, describing what that moment meant to him.

“It was a very nice conversation. I feel like I couldn’t really get words out,” Senger said. “I was really excited. All of those years that I put in, kind of overwhelmed me. So, yeah, pretty speechless.”

With Francisco Alvarezbeginning the season on the Injured List due to a broken bone in his left hand, Luis Torrens will take over as the starting catcher, opening a spot for Senger as the backup.

“There’s a lot of down times and lot of times when I felt like I was on top of the world,” Senger said. “It’s a roller coaster playing in the minor leagues for that long. To be here, it does make it all worth it.”

“I’ve got to give a shoutout to my wife [Ryann],” Senger added later. “She has worked for a lot of years to support me through this, and it kind of made it all worth it now that I get to say I’m a major league baseball player.”

Stearns said Senger making the team is a good story, but that's not the reason he made the ballclub. 

“He’s getting the job because we think he can help us win games,” Stearns said. “He’s an elite defensive catcher. Our pitchers love throwing to him; that really matters for us. And we’re excited to have him on the team and looking forward to watching him play.”

As Senger has battled his way up through the Mets’ minor league system (he first got a taste of Triple-A ball in 2022), he’s needed to take on an offseason job along the way, working in a grocery store to supplement his income.

“[Carlos Mendoza] said I know what you do in the offseason,” Senger said about when he got the call into the manager’s office, “and I don’t know if you ever got a promotion [there], but you got one here.”

Of course, there’s no telling how long this major league dream will last for Senger, but he’s not thinking that far ahead. For now, he’s soaking up every moment he can as he looks forward to his major league debut.

But what about keeping that other job?

“Still up in the air,” Senger said with a laugh. “I gotta tell my boss.”

Hall of Famer on Phillies Andrew Painter: ‘This guy's gonna be Gerrit Cole'

Hall of Famer on Phillies Andrew Painter: ‘This guy's gonna be Gerrit Cole' originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Phillies haven’t opened the 2025 season just yet, but one Hall of Famer believes their pitching will guide them deep into October.

Hall of Fame baseball writer Jayson Stark was a guest on 97.5 The Fanatic’s “The Best Show Ever,” and he was very bullish on the Phils, particularly the starting pitching, a group that features a pair of additions at the back end to an already strong top four: hard-throwing Jesus Luzardo, added via trade from Miami, and top prospect Andrew Painter, who expects to arrive sometime around the middle of the season.

“I think the upside is best rotation in baseball,” Stark said. “We’re assuming the big guns stay healthy. [Zack] Wheeler, [Aaron] Nola, they’re all about taking the ball. Let’s assume they do. Then you have Cristopher Sanchez. So much buzz about that guy all spring, and with reason. He finished the spring with a 29% strikeout rate. Now you have this ‘swing and miss’ version of Sanchez that we’ve never seen. It could be spectacular if this is what he is.”

“Jesus Luzardo is a swing and miss machine. It feels to me like he is highly motivated by a chance to pitch for a team that’s actually good! When you think about all the retreads that they ran through the number 5 starter hole last year, and now you compare that group to Jesus Luzardo, what a difference! It’s incredible to think about what a difference that make.”

Some lofty expectations indeed for Luzardo, who while exceedingly talented, has yet to truly arrive in the major leagues. But Stark saved some superlatives for a man who has yet to throw a single major league pitch.

“Ricky, this guy’s gonna be [Yankees ace] Gerrit Cole, honestly. I just wonder about how patient the Phillies can be about getting him to the big leagues if they have any injuries early in the rotation.”

Whoa.

Painter hasn’t pitched a single inning above AA-ball, and Stark compares him favorably with a 6-time All-Star, Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer. Heady stuff. I’ll take it.

Coming off Tommy John surgery and rehab, Painter (who turns 22 next month) is on an innings restriction of about 100 innings for 2025. The front office would prefer that those innings are pitched down the stretch, or, if the situation calls for it, in the postseason. But we shall see.

“I know they feel like they’ve got the best rotation in the big leagues… I’m not sure they’re wrong, and a lot of it is about those two guys who were not there at any point last year.”

Is Michigan's Mason Graham a top 10 NFL Draft pick?

(This article was written with the assistance of Castmagic, an AI tool, and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy. Please reach out to us if you notice any mistakes.)

Michigan's Mason Graham stands out as a top-tier defensive tackle prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft with incredible potential thanks to his explosive playmaking and versatility. However, injury concerns, length issues, and questions about consistency and sack production make him a prospect that NFL teams will have to evaluate carefully to ensure his college dominance can translate to the professional field.

Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice and Charles McDonald dove into the pros and cons of Graham's game. Here's what they found:  

Explosive playmaker: Graham has earned the nickname "the human hand grenade" due to his ability to detonate plays upon impact. His explosive athleticism and knock-back power are impressive attributes that set him apart from his peers.

Versatility: Graham can play as a three-technique in normal downs and shift inside to a one-technique on pass rush downs. This flexibility makes him a valuable asset for NFL teams looking for a dynamic presence.

Big play generator: Beyond being just a big body on the line, Graham is known for generating significant plays in the pass rush and run defense. His ability to contribute meaningfully across the board bolsters his stock as a top prospect.

High potential for dominance: His 2023 game tape shows stretches of outright dominance, indicating that when healthy and in form, Graham can take over games. His quickness, strength and ability to penetrate the line make him a threat to offenses.

BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 09: Michigan Wolverines DL Mason Graham (55) warms up prior to a college football game between the Michigan Wolverines and Indiana Hoosiers on November 9, 2024 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Mason Graham's play from 2024 season didn't match his dominance of the 2023 season. (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Injury concerns: While Graham's 2023 season showcased his potential dominance, there was a notable drop-off in his 2024 season, partly due to injuries. This raises concerns about his durability and ability to sustain high performance over a full NFL season.

Lack of length: One of the main blemishes in Graham's profile is his 32-inch arm length which, although not a deal-breaker, might limit his effectiveness against longer-armed offensive linemen in the NFL. This could impact his ability to consistently create separation and execute certain pass rush moves.

Consistency: While most reports laud his potential, there's acknowledgement that Graham didn't consistently dominate in 2024. His performance fluctuated, posing questions about his ability to maintain a high level of play week-in and week-out in the NFL.

Projection as a sack artist: There is some uncertainty about whether Graham can be a guaranteed double-digit sack player, which is often a benchmark for elite defensive tackles. Although he has moments of brilliance, questions about his ultimate ceiling in terms of sack production remain.

To hear more NFL discussions, tune into "Football 301" on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

'Generational upgrade.' Inside Dodgers' offseason renovations to their new home clubhouse

Los Angeles, CA, Monday, January 6, 2025 - Construction continues on the field at Dodger Stadium as harsh Santa Ana weather conditions are predicted this week. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
During the offseason, construction crews gutted the bowels of Dodger Stadium, digging deep trenches down the left and right field foul lines to build new, expanded clubhouse areas. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

When the Dodgers’ Guggenheim ownership group first bought the team in 2012, one of their early hires was renowned sports architect Janet Marie Smith.

And in her first couple of months on the job, one of her biggest early tasks quickly became clear.

The clubhouse at the time, she recalled, still felt like a “1962 locker room” — from the shared batting cage and food room used by the home and road teams, to the dilapidated dressing room that still harkened back to the stadium’s opening a half-century earlier.

So, that first offseason before the 2013 campaign, the team did some immediate renovations, updating the space with more modern features and expanding its footprint to a more spacious two-level design.

But over the decade since, a more complete reimagining of the space had been on the club’s bucket list.

Read more:Mookie Betts is happy to be back in the Dodgers' lineup

This winter, those visions finally became reality.

When the Dodgers begin the domestic portion of their schedule on Thursday, hosting the Detroit Tigers for their home-opener at 4:10 p.m., they will do so in the comfort of a brand-new clubhouse space, having completed an extensive renovation to Dodger Stadium this offseason that centered on transforming the area players will call home for the next six months.

“We felt that what we’d done in 2013 seemed like a marked change,” Smith said this week. “But what we’ve done this year is what [team president] Stan Kasten has described as a ‘generational upgrade.’”

In the space of just four months this winter, construction crews gutted the bowels of Dodger Stadium, digging deep trenches down the left and right field foul lines to build new, expanded clubhouse areas within the confines of Major League Baseball’s third-oldest ballpark.

When fans arrive Thursday, the results of the work won’t be obvious to the naked eye. From the exterior, the ballpark won’t look much changed from the extensive 2020 renovations Smith oversaw at the stadium, when the outfield pavilions were updated and the center field plaza was added to become Dodger Stadium’s new “front door.”

But beneath their feet, the Dodgers will be enjoying all the trappings of their new home clubhouse.

Fans take in the view as construction workers finish renovations during DodgerFest at Dodger Stadium Saturday.
Fans take in the view as construction workers finish renovations during DodgerFest at Dodger Stadium last month. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

They now have expanded weight, training and food rooms. Their once-cramped locker room has been turned into a more spacious, luxurious setting. And, to the excitement of much of the roster, a second batting cage has been installed as well, one fitted with all the trappings of modern training technology in what the team hopes will serve as yet another boon to its superstar-laden roster.

“That clubhouse was amazing,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said after getting his first look during the team’s Freeway Series exhibition game against the Angels on Sunday.

“Really crazy,” added starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow. “Everything was really nice.”

“It’s hard to put into words,” echoed third baseman Max Muncy, one of the longest-tenured players on the roster. “You get so used to something being there and you come in and you have no idea where you’re at. It’s really cool. It’s what you’d expect out of the Dodgers.”

Because Dodger Stadium is built into a hillside in Chavez Ravine, Smith said the only way for the team to create new space for its players and coaching staff was effectively by digging deeper into the ground.

“It would be impossible — and I don’t use that word casually — to go into the hillside to create the space for the clubhouse,” said Smith, whose decorated career includes leading past jobs to build Camden Yards in Baltimore, transform Turner Field in Atlanta from a Summer Olympics venue into an MLB stadium, and renovate Fenway Park in Boston for a second century of use.

“So,” she continued of this winter’s Dodger Stadium renovations, “we took all the seats out, created the space below the playing field, and then created essentially a concrete roof over that” for the pre-existing structure to be rebuilt on top of.

Read more:Dodgers will visit President Trump and the White House to celebrate World Series title

Planning for the project had taken shape over the last two years, with Smith soliciting input from president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and his front office, members of the coaching staff and playing roster, and virtually anyone else who counts the clubhouse as their workplace on a daily basis.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in the clubhouse who didn’t have some input on their area,” she said. “That’s been really helpful.”

And through those conversations, the reality Smith first confronted a decade ago was only further crystallized as blueprints came together.

“As we worked with our baseball operations team and Andrew Friedman and all of his lieutenants,” she said, “it became clear that what we really needed was not just an appendage to the clubhouse, but a holistic renovation.”

Now, the home clubhouse is a sprawling three-story structure residing beneath Dodger Stadium’s field level. It stretches from behind the third-base dugout all the way down to the left-field foul pole. And it’s so big, Freeman joked that before Sunday’s game, he didn’t even have time to check out all of its new features on his first day there.

“I heard there were [new] sleep rooms,” he said with a laugh. “I haven’t even seen those yet. So yeah, it’s gonna take a couple days to take it all in.”

One of the most notable changes was the expansion of the actual locker room, which transformed from one of the smallest home dressing rooms in all the majors to a more modern space with new stalls complete with mood lighting and digitized nameplates.

Vast improvements were also made to strength and conditioning rooms, something that Smith credited to owner Mark Walter’s goal of making Dodger Stadium “a place where the players feel is there for them 12 months a year,” and also noted as being high on Friedman's list of suggestions.

“One of the things that Andrew and his team asked for was that our weight room and training room be placed together,” she said, “because the activities between the two are very fluid.”

The team’s full-service kitchen got a facelift, too, having evolved as a place of renewed importance since Dodger Stadium’s last clubhouse renovations in 2013.

Construction crews worked throughout the offseason to finish upgrades to the team's clubhouse in time for the 2025 season.
Construction crews worked throughout the offseason to finish upgrades to the team's clubhouse in time for the start of the 2025 season. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Same went with the batting cages — the place many hitters and coaches spend much of their time pregame, and made near-universal requests for the creation of a second hitting tunnel.

“I mean, we made it work with one cage,” Freeman said. “But having two cages, obviously you can get so much more. Guys can work at the same time … We’ll be able to change schedules.”

“More space, more resources,” Freeman added, “means hopefully better things.”

The real surprise from players was how quickly the renovations got done.

Freeman deadpanned that, compared to Dodger Stadium’s four-month timeline, it took a wine cellar he installed at his home “about eight months to do, so I’m kinda confused.” Glasnow added that, at points this offseason, he “honestly didn’t think it was gonna get done” in time for the start of the season.

“But when we walked in, everything was ready to go,” Glasnow remarked this week, his eyes still wide with amazement at the new space. “To all the workers, I don’t know how they did that so quick. It was so much stuff.”

Smith acknowledged the scale of this offseason’s renovations isn’t usually completed so quickly. She estimated that the timeline “probably should have been three times” as long as their four-month construction window. But, to expedite the process, crews from PCL construction, along with hundreds of other subcontractors and vendors who were involved in the job, worked on a seven-day-per-week schedule. Some contractors, Smith said, “have literally not had a day off since January.”

“When they took the job on, it was sort of a pact everyone made: You’re gonna be available,” Smith said. “And everyone stuck to that … I think people feel real pride in being able to be a part of something that has this kind of cultural relevance to the city.”

Read more:News Analysis: Shohei Ohtani is restarting his throwing program. But how much will he pitch in 2025?

Smith’s hope is that fans feel similarly, even if their gameday experience might not look much different when they arrive Thursday.

“I know it’s not a fan-facing space [that we renovated],” she said. “But I think our fans have such a connection to our players and their emotions and their psyche, that I hope they sort of feel that energy resonated.”

With the players, at least, it already is; giving the Dodgers’ defending World Series-winning roster one more thing to celebrate as they open the 2025 season.

“It feels like they created space out of nothing, which they kind of did,” Muncy said. “Everything just feels a whole lot bigger. It’s kind of amazing.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Phillies at Nationals Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends and stats for Mar. 27

Phillies at Nationals Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends and stats for March 27

Thursday, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals open the 2025 regular season in our nation's capital.

Zack Wheeler is slated to take the mound for Philadelphia against MacKenzie Gore for Washington

Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.

We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.

Game details & how to watch Phillies at Nationals

  • Date: Thursday, March 27, 2025
  • Time: 4:05PM EST
  • Site: Nationals Park
  • City: Washington, DC
  • Network/Streaming: NBC Sports Philadelphia, MASN

Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.

Odds for the Phillies at the Nationals

The latest odds as of Wednesday:

  • Moneyline: Philadelphia Phillies (-175), Washington Nationals (+145)
  • Spread: Phillies -1.5 (-102), Nationals +1.5 (-118)
  • Total: 7.0 runs

Listen to the Rotoworld Baseball Show for the latest player news, waiver claims, roster advice and more from our experts all season long. Click here or download it wherever you get your podcasts.

Probable starting pitchers for Phillies at Nationals

  • Thursday’s pitching matchup (DATE): Zack Wheeler vs. MacKenzie Gore
    • Phillies: Zack Wheeler
      Spring Training - 4GP, 14 IP, 0-1, 3.86 ERA, 13 Ks
    • Nationals: MacKenzie Gore
      Spring Training - 4GP, 16.1 IP, 2-1, 2.76 ERA, 18 Ks

Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!

Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Phillies at Nationals

  • Alec Bohm who was rumored to be on the trading block this offseason led the Phillies this Spring with a .370 average
  • Kyle Schwarber collected 9 hits in 49 ABs (.184) this Spring
  • Dylan Crews was 15-55 (.273) this Spring for the Nationals
  • Josh Bell struck out 19 times in just 46 ABs this Spring for Washington

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every
single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

Expert picks & predictions for Thursday’s game between the Phillies and the Nationals

NBC Sports Bet Best Bet

Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday's game between the Phillies and the Nationals:

  • Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Phillies on Moneyline.
  • Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Phillies -1.5.
  • Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the under on the Game Total of 7.0.

Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC

Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:

  • Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
  • Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
  • Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
  • Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)